Archive for the 'John Paul Jones' Tag Under 'Soundcheck' Category

Led Zeppelin last month in London at the press conference announcing the release of 'Celebration Day.' From left: John Paul Jones, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. Photo: Danny Martindale, Getty Images

Many of us Zep fanatics – the million-plus who tried for tickets times at least 10 – have taken it on good faith for five years that one of the most momentous performances in rock history was every bit as jaw-dropping incredible as everyone lucky to see it live said it was at the time.

Now there's proof: Celebration Day, the riveting, invigorating film documenting Led Zeppelin's sole full-length reunion performance since last briefly touring at the dawn of the '80s. It fully delivers on the mythologizing hype that immediately burst forth after that show, finally placing a properly gleaming capstone on their seismic career after a series of self-described shambolic attempts in the past, and giving idolizing devotees who were too young to spy the real thing a golden glimpse at the thunder of these gods in action.

Having premiered last week in London, with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones on hand for the screening, the two-hour chronicle of their once-unthinkable stunner at London's O2 Arena in December 2007 next plays in theaters countywide for one night only – tonight, Oct. 17. After that, it arrives on Blu-ray and DVD on Nov. 20. CD and vinyl versions of the soundtrack also become available that day, not long before the group is saluted at the annual Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C.

Celebration Day is a monumental testament, nothing less than the epic you'd expect from a group that so enigmatically and painstakingly oversees its legacy. Once you're engulfed in director Dick Carruthers' masterful encapsulation of Zeppelin's tremendous achievement, inspired by the memory of Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, it's easy to understand at least one reason why they might never want to do it again.

Die-hards woke early today to make sure days of rumors were true, and they are: Led Zeppelin's ballyhooed one-off reunion performance at London's O2 Arena in 2007, as part of a tribute to Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, will finally see the light of day as a Blu-ray/DVD release this fall.

The show, with Jason Bonham filling in on drums for his long-departed father, quickly took its place among Zep mythology as the first full-length set from the rest of the group -- Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones -- since Bonham's death in 1980. Their only other appearances were brief and less-than-memorable, including a shoddy four-song turn at Live Aid in 1985 (with Plant in very hoarse voice) and then an even worse attempt in 1988, at an event commemorating Atlantic's 40th Anniversary.

By contrast, the London gig was a rousing success, hailed by critics and fueling intense speculation that the reunion would continue for a full-blown tour. Plant squashed that notion almost immediately, hitting the road instead with Alison Krauss to promote their Grammy winner Raising Sand. For a time, Page had discussed carrying on with a different vocalist, but that idea was also scrapped almost as soon as it surfaced.

All week, never-say-never dreamers (many of whom were among the 20 million lottery entrants who vied for a mere 18,000 tickets to see the real thing) had hoped that a daily countdown on Led Zeppelin's website was an indication that a major tour announcement was imminent. Not so.

The pre-telecast ceremony for the 53rd annual Grammy Awards was already running late and long by the time its third hour rolled in. But that wasn't gonna keep Mavis Staples from talking for however long she liked.

She more than deserved to take her sweet time -- and get a standing ovation from the crowd of nominees. After more than a half-century of making music, the gospel legend, 71, finally won her first Grammy, a rather astounding fact when you consider how many classic recordings she and the Staple Singers have contributed over the years.

"Oh, Lord, this Grammy took a long time coming," she said tearfully, "but I'm grateful. It was worth the wait."

Staples was selected for best Americana album, for her excellent set You Are Not Alone, produced by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy -- whom she thanked, naturally, though her biggest praise (after God) was for her father, Roebuck "Pops" Staples. "You laid the foundation and I am still working on the building."

Also experiencing a first was Neil Young. The two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer technically snagged his first statuette last year, but that was merely as one of three art directors behind his behemoth Neil Young Archives Vol. I (1963-1972), which was named best boxed or special limited edition package.

I was admittedly late. Never having been to this old-timey theater, about as posh as downtown Riverside gets, I didn't anticipate there would be virtually no nearby parking. It took me 20 minutes of street searching to find a spot, by which time I had missed the production's introductory film (though there were enough archival bits of Bonzo and his boy later on that I can fill in the blanks) as well as I what I assume were the first three songs: a fitting “Rock and Roll” to open followed by “Celebration Day” (one of only two from Led Zeppelin III) and then “Black Dog” (which I bet was smoking). I finally grabbed a seat as the ghostly organ for “Your Time Is Gonna Come” swelled. (My guess as to what I didn't catch, by the way, is based on other posted setlists. If you were there and know otherwise, please correct me.)

The couple who beat me to the box office to demand a refund, however, clearly came uninformed about what they had paid to see, or perhaps they were season-ticket holders who figured Bonham's blast (which plays again Tuesday night at the more opulent Pantages Theatre) might be more akin to, oh, Movin' Out star Michael Cavanaugh's tribute to Billy Joel, slated for the Fox on Friday night. I'm guessing there's no tattered Zep vinyl buried in their closet. The wife had a dismissive look that suggested the next morning she'd repeatedly tell her friend, “But Myrtle, it was just so loud!” The husband was simply huffy: “Just a painful experience!” he complained.

Oh, c'mon, it was hardly that bad. Loud, yeah, granted -- and frankly it could have been louder. But for Zeppelin fans it was a pretty supreme treat: 20 expertly executed classics ranging from the expected (“Dazed and Confused,” “Stairway to Heaven”) to the less-remembered (“I'm Gonna Crawl,” tellingly the last song on the last album released before John Bonham's death, In Through the Out Door). All of that came interspersed with several sincere asides from Jason about his father's lasting legacy and how many emotionally overwhelming Zep-related moments the younger Bonham has had lately, not just the bittersweet joy of this well-received tour but also the impetus that ignited it: his one-off stint anchoring the real thing in December 2007 at London's O2 Arena.

At that event, which made the impossible possible in salute to Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, he got to fulfill a lifelong dream of playing with heroes who had been an integral part of his childhood. With this touring tribute, though, Bonham actually achieves something even more personal: during the extended break of “Moby Dick,” matching the beat and enhancing the thunder of Bonzo's epic solo, Jason plays alongside his dad, something he hadn't properly done by the time of that fateful September day in 1980, and something John wished in a 1970 interview that he'd someday get to do at the Royal Albert Hall.

November 19th, 2010, 12:23 pm by BEN WENER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Jason Bonham never intended to tour with a tribute to his late father's band. Granted, just as Dweezil Zappa has recently with his notable Zappa Plays Zappa project, if anyone has a right to pay homage to Led Zeppelin and brush asides scores of imitators worldwide, it would be Bonzo's progeny.

But Bonham, busy enough anchoring Foreigner for the past four years, had already played with the remainder of the real thing -- in December 2007 at the O2 Arena in London, when he backed Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Robert Plant in a one-off set in salute to Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun. What's more, while rumors of a full-fledged Zeppelin reunion tour swirled and eventually dissipated, Bonham, Page and Jones were working toward establishing a band of their own -- though that "sort of faded away" and the drummer soon wound up forming a new supergroup, Black Country Communion, featuring metal figure Glenn Hughes and ballyhooed blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa.

That outfit's self-titled debut dropped in September, days before the 30th anniversary of John Bonham's alcohol-induced death and the untimely end of the greatest hard-rock band that ever existed. But just when it would make sense for a BCC tour announcement, Bonham, 44, instead revealed plans for Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience, a multimedia production (designed in part by the people behind the Pink Floyd Experience and the Beatles salute Rain) that will start wrapping up its 30-show run next week with shows Sunday at the Fox Performing Arts Center in Riverside and Tuesday at the prestigious Pantages Theatre.

Weaving together archival footage (Bonham even plays along with Bonzo during his famous "Moby Dick" solo) with songs both standard ("Kashmir," "Whole Lotta Love," "Stairway to Heaven") and rarely played (i.e. material from 1976's Presence and 1979's In Through the Out Door that wasn't performed live back in the day), the show, two sets plus an intermission, has been racking up rave reviews since it launched a little less than two months ago, including a glowing review of its NYC stop by Rolling Stone's David Fricke.

Plant has given it an approving nod as well, mentioning in a Florida radio interview that "Jason's a bit of a rascal, but I'll tell you this -- nobody else plays drums like him. There was, once, but his father is no longer with us. As long as Jason does it with a smile on his face, he has my blessing."

Nobody at L.A.'s intimately structured Club Nokia could avoid the free-wheelin' spirit of the Southern California desert that radiated unremittingly from the all-too-cocky grin fixed on Josh Homme's face throughout Them Crooked Vultures' set Wednesday night. During band member introductions, the frontman's devious hubris reached a peak.

"I'm from the desert. I'm Joshua," Homme quipped, asserting his eminent position of royalty at Coachella this weekend -- which can't be much refuted, considering Joshua Tree and the surrounding territory has been his creative stomping grounds since the days of his first band, Kyuss.

But the Queens of the Stone Age king made no mention of the festival until the introduction of the final mind-bending ballad, "Warsaw."

"Anyone going to Coachella?" An overwhelming majority screamed in affirmation.